抄録
A novel technique to recognize bubbles in bread dough and analyze their size distribution was developed by using a Micro-Slicer Image Processing System (MSIPS). Samples were taken from the final stage of the mixing process of bread dough which generally consists of four distinctive stages. Also, to investigate the effect of freeze preservation on the size distribution of bubbles, comparisons were made between fresh dough and the dough that had been freeze preserved at .30°C for three months. Bubbles in the dough samples were identified in the images of MSIPS as defocusing spots due to the difference in focal distance created by vacant spaces. In case of the fresh dough, a total of 910 bubbles were recognized and their maximum diameter ranged from 0.4 to 70.5μm with an average of 11.1μm. On the other hand, a total of 1,195 bubbles were recognized from the freeze-preserved sample, and the maximum diameter ranged from 0.9 to 32.7μm with an average of 6.7μm. Small bubbles with maximum diameters less than 10μm comprised approximately 59% and 78% of total bubbles for fresh and freeze-preserved dough samples, respectively. The results indicated that the bubble size of frozen dough is smaller than that of unfrozen one. The proposed method can provide a novel tool to investigate the effects of mixing and preservation treatments on the size, morphology and distribution of bubbles in bread dough.
